GURPS Blood Types
GURPS Blood Types is a 1995 classic GURPS reference book that lists the name of 78 different types of vampires from actual mythology and describes 23 vampires (or vampire like) beings from both mythology and fiction. Background Unlike the previously licensed 1993 GURPS Vampire The Masquerade this RPG supplement from Steve Jackson Games takes its inspiration directly from folklore and fiction. The three broad types GURPS Blood Types breaks vampire and vampire-like beings into three broad types: Mortal Vampires--Living beings who have become vampires through some pact or deal. Generally they are not undead. Undead--Once living beings who have come back from the dead to feed on the living Spirit and other worldly beings--Otherworldly parasitic beings that masquerade as a member of a mortal race. Vampires detailed in the work Those with a "*" can be active in daylight:Nearly all the mythical vampires are also described in Theresa Bane's 2010 Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology • Adze*: supernatural entity vampire from central Africa mainly Ghana and Togo. • Alien*: otherworldly vampire-may or may not be supernatural in nature. • Astral*: mortal vampire (sorcerer) found around the world. Some examples are Bebarlang of Southeast Asia and Philippines and the Chordewa of Bangal hill tribes. • Baital*: supernatural entity vampire from India. • Ch'iang Shich: Undead vampire from China. The Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology lists this a different vampire from the Jiang Shi but for simplicity they are grouped together here. Must be burned completely to be destroyed and can put their essence to an object requiring it to be destroyed.GURPS Blood Types pg 87 • http://vampmyth.com/122/67/990584.html Civateteo]*: an undead vampire of Mesoamerica. Another variant of this from the same region is the Langsoir. • http://vampmyth.com/122/71/990658.html Gaki]*: supernatural vampire-like being from Japan-may be either animated corpse or otherworldly spirit. • Ghul*: Mortal vampire (flesh eater) from Arabian folktales. Hannya is the Japanese equivalent. • Gothic*: undead vampire made famous by Dracula and most of the movie variants inspired by the work. • Half-Vampire*: Mortal vampire that is usually a servant or slave to the Gothic type. The Dhampir of Gypsy mythology is the half-Vampire offspring of a human and vampire. • High-Tech*: Mortal vampire created via super science. • Human*: Mortal Vampire who feels the need to drink another's blood. Moroii (Romania) are human vampires with supernatural powers and destined to rise as undead when they die. • http://vampmyth.com/122/73/990719.html Incubus/Succubus]*: supernatural vampire-like entity that drains life via sexual contact rather than blood • http://vampmyth.com/122/76/990773.html Lamia]*: undead/supernatural entity from ancient Greece. (Word is 5th-century Vulgate's translation of Lilith) Other names are Empusae and Mormo. The Jaracacas is the Brazilian equivalent. • http://vampmyth.com/122/76/990797.html Lilitu]*: supernatural entity vampire from ancient Mesopotamia. Name and nature has connection to Adam's first wife (Lilith)Bane, Theresa (2010) Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology McFarland pg 95 • http://vampmyth.com/122/76/990804.html Loogaroo]*: Mortal vampire (soul pact) of Haiti. Obayifo (Africa) is from the Ashanti people and the Tlalicque is from pre-Columbian Mexico. Generally female. • Modern: Updated version of Gothic vampire type. • Nosferatu (word): Nonexistent wordNosferatu: Origin and Definitions that supposedly means undead in Romanian. In the context of GURPS Blood Types it is the vampire seen in the film Nosferatu. Called Nosferat in Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology. • Penanggalen*: Female mortal vampire (soul pact) of Malay Peninsula. Male counterpart in Berma is the Kephn. Can only feed at night. Anananngel (Philippines) is another variant. • http://vampmyth.com/122/83/990967.html: Mortal vampire (witch) of ancient Rome. Variants are the Aswang (Philippines) and Bruxsa (Portugal) • Usrel: Undead child vampire of Poland. If not properly destroyed can rise again as another type. Variants are the Callicantzaros (Greece) and Pontiannak (Malaysia) • Vampir: Traditional undead European vampire of the Slavic nations. Usually attacks in astral form and is more likely to be a peasant than noble. Ka (Egypt) is a rough equivalent to the Vampir's astral form. • Vyrolakos*: Traditional undead European vampire of the Balkan nations. Usually attacks physically and in the legend would often take human mates and have families. Tympanios is a precursor variant that was less insane and did not depend on blood. Bibliography GURPS Blood Types uses a host of sources but here are the more scholarly ones: * Barber, Paul (1988) Vampires, Burial and Death (Yale University Press) * Bunson, Matthew (1993) The Vampire Encyclopedia (Crown Publications) * Frayling, Christopher (1991) Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula (Faber and Faber, Ltd) * Haining, Peter (1977) The Dracula Scrapbook (Bramhall House) * McNally, Raymond T. and Florescu, Radu (1972) In Search of Dracula (N.Y. Graphic Society) * Melton, J. Gordon (1994) The Vampire Book (Visible Ink Press) * Summers, Montague (1928) The Vampire, His Kith and Kin (Routledge and Keegan Paul) * Summers, Montague (1929) The Vampire in Europe (Routledge and Keegan Paul) * Twitchell, James B, (1975) The Living Dead: The Vampire in Romantic Literature (Duke University Press) * Wolf, Leonard (ed.) (1995) The Essential Dracula (Plume) Category:Books Category:Vampires Category:Types of Vampires